Undefined Fear
by Stryker. AJ
Summary: "So, what's Mika afraid of?" - Norba Shino (Oneshot)


As he sat in the _Tekkadan _cafeteria, Shino could only rub his chin thoughtfully as he stared at Mikazuki, sitting over at the far side of the room, silently eating his lunch with his right arm arm while his left, paralyzed arm was held up in a sling.

It was strange, Norba has known the kid for a long time… and yet, he was never able to figure out what he was scared of. They've been through a ton, having fought through the Dorts Colony, the Atmospheric battle over Earth and the Edmonton battle, and if he were honest, Shino found it mildly embarrassing that he still didn't know what Augus was afraid of.

"Oi, Shino," came Eugene's voice out of seemingly nowhere, and before Norba could respond, he was smacked over the head with the back of his friend's hand. After giving a soft yell, the boy turned and fixed his gaze on Eugene, who was staring at him with a questioning gaze. Beside Shino, Yamagi, Akihiro and Ride gave him confused glances as well.

"Erm… yes?" muttered Shino as Eugene took a seat beside him.

"You're staring," replied Eugene matter of factly. "It's rude."

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say," grumbled Shino, waving off Eugene's comment as Ride piped in.

"But seriously, why were you staring at Mika?" asked the ginger, smirking as the boy in question glanced over at the small group, having heard his name be mentioned. He raised his brow questioningly, though he soon delivered his gaze back to his food when Akihiro waved him off. As soon as Mika was apparently not paying attention to them once more, and after Shino gave Ride a mildly irritated glare, the boy in question chuckled nervously and lowered his voice. "Really… don't tell me you've got your eye for him."

"Don't be ridiculous, Ride!" whisper shouted Shino as he narrowed his eyes at the ginger, who waved his arms around nervously. "It's just… do you guys have any clue what Mika's afraid of?"

And for about a minute, no one spoke up as they all eyed Mika, who was oblivious to all this.

"...I never thought about that," admitted Akihiro, breaking the silence as he rubbed his chin. "Any of you guys have any clue?"

"Nada," replied Ride.

"Ditto," added Shino.

"No," finished Yamagi.

And the small group only found themselves growing more curious as they put more thought into it.

* * *

**Several hours later **

"Seriously, what's Mikazuki's fear?"

Grimacing as he asked that question, Shino stared around the room they were currently in, namely the Mobile Suit hanger, looking between all the present members of _Tekkadan _who were gathered around him as he spoke. From time to time, Norba would spare a glance of two at the _Gundams _who were stored inside the hangar, namely _Barbatos _and _Gusion_, though he kept his mind off them as best he could as he focused on the main reason as to why he had gathered everyone here.

Beside Shino, Ride watched as various members of _Tekkadan _chatted between one another as they wondered what Mika was exactly fearful of. Takaki, in spite of being quite a big fan of the ace _Tekkadan _pilot, was unable to answer Shino's question. Chad, Dante and Derma were also unable to deduce anything, and the newer _Tekkadan _members couldn't even pitch in as they hardly knew him.

Over with the _Gundams_, namely the _Gusion_, was Old Man Yuki, who was content with ignoring the entire ordeal as he worked on some upgrades for the _Rebake_.

As for Orga, however…

The _Tekkadan _leader simply chuckled as he leaned up against a rusted wall, watching everyone discuss the potential fear of his oldest friend. It took Shino a handful of seconds to notice him, and when he did, he approached his leader and held him by the shoulders.

"Orga!" proclaimed Shino as soon as he gripped his leader's shoulders, his sudden appearance causing the boy in question to wince as he did his best to hold back his laughter. "You've known Mika for a long time! YOU SHOULD KNOW WHAT HE'S SCARED OF, SO PLEASE, TELL US WHAT HIS FEAR IS!"

"Why?" inquired Orga as all eyes in the hangar landed on him. "What does his fear have to do with anything?"

"IT JUST IRRITATES ME TO NO END AND I REALLY WANNA KNOW!" exclaimed Shino even louder, prompting Old Man Yuki to turn and stare at the gathered group with an annoyed expression. Shino ignored him as he continued. "COME ON, TELL ME!"

"Hm, how about we make this interesting?" was Orga's simple response to Shino as he removed his friend's hands from his shoulders. Everyone present, even Yuki, raised their brows at that comment, though thankfully, Itsuka continued before they got too confused. "A contest. Let's see if you guys can figure out what Mikazuki's fear is."

"But how?" inquired Takaki, rubbing his chin as he spoke.

"By any means necessary," replied Orga, smirking competitively. "Physically, mentally, or verbally. As long as you can squeeze that little piece of information out of Mika, then I suppose you win."

For a moment, no one spoke up, all silently considering Orga's proposal. In the end, Ride was the one who broke the silence.

"And… what exactly does the winner get?" inquired Ride thoughtfully. And Orga only smirked maliciously as he responded.

"How about a pay raise?"

And pretty much everyone joined in on the competition as soon as Orga gave his offer, with all of them roaring out in approval when they heard the offer. Ironically, their approval nearly ruined it all when Mikazuki himself peeked into the hangar.

"Is everything alright?" asked Mika as he poked his head in. Everyone present was unable to respond properly, though thankfully, Orga had their backs.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it," assured Orga, and his word was enough to make Augus nod as he left. Once he was gone, Itsuka turned to his comrades and gave a wink.

"Good luck!"

* * *

**Attempt 1: Ride Mass**

With Ride being… well, Ride, he presumed that Mika was scared of bugs. Ride wasn't exactly terrified of them, for the most part, though he didn't know if the same applied to Mika.

So, with a little reluctance, young Ride decided to drag Mika off to the dirtiest spot in the _Tekkadan _base, the dreaded **store room**, a room so disgusting that no one dared venture into it.

"Why are we going in. didn't Old Man Yuki tell us to stay out?" inquired Mika as Ride led them towards the storeroom. In response, Mass gave an uneasy chuckle as he shrugged.

"Erm… we need something from there!" replied Ride uncomfortably as he tapped his fingers together. Mika raised his brows in response to Ride's reasoning, who thought that he would refuse to help, mainly because of his immovable arm, though thankfuly he didn't pursue that matter as he opened the door.

The two were greeted with a pungent odor that made Ride gag. Mika himself even grimaced as the stench assaulted his nostrils.

"W-Well… after you," stammered Ride, and Mika only frowned as he took a step in.

"What are we looking for?" inquired Mika as he flipped the switch to the room and began looking between all the boxes stored in the place.

"It's a…" muttered Ride, only for his voice to trail off as he spotted something resting in the corner of the store room. And Ride himself has seen quite a lot of shit in his life, with most of said shit being enough to scar him for life and/or make grown men wet themselves.

But in truth, seeing a massive Atlas Moth resting in the corner of the room probably topped all of it.

"Ride…?" muttered Mika when he didn't get a reply from the boy in question. "Are you alright?"

Turning on his heel, Mika raised a brow when he saw Ride turn pale. And before he could even say anything else, the ginger gave a horribly girly scream as he bolted right the fuck out of there, screaming the entire way as Mika watched in confusion.

And over in the corner, the Atlas Moth only stared down at Mika, who soon noticed it. Turning to face it, Augus tilted his head off to the side, wondering how exactly it got in here. Admittedly, he did wince ever so slightly then the Moth spread its wings apart, though he didn't feel anything else as he eyed it.

If anything, Mika thought the little Moth was rather beautiful.

But still…

'_What exactly did Old Man Yuki want…?'_

* * *

**Attempt 2: Yamagi Gilmerton **

With his eyes narrowed and jaw squared, Yamagi kept his gaze fixed securely on Mika, who stared back silently.

And there they were… silently staring at one another as Takaki comforted Ride, who was still traumatised by the sight of the moth, in the background.

For a long, long time, no one spoke…

It was all silent…

Horribly, horribly silent…

And finally.

"Why are you staring, Yamagi?" questioned Mika with a raised brow. The blonde in question stayed silent and intensified his gaze, though before long, Mika got sick of the staring contest and went off to do other things, leaving Yamagi behind to sigh.

"I guess the death glare isn't his fear," commented Yamagi, partially disappointed, as he turned to Takaki and Ride. "Figured as much."

"Yeah, I guess so," agreed Takaki with a smile. Meanwhile, Ride kept himself in the fetal position, rocking back and forth whilst trembling in fear, prompting Takaki to try and calm him down once more. "Honestly the scariest thing so far is how that flying thing managed to live in our storeroom for so long…"

"And how it even got onto Mars…" added Yamagi as Shino entered the room to call Takaki out.

* * *

**Attempt 3: Norba Shino **

"Yo, Mikazuki!"

Blinking as his name was called out, Mikazuki raised an eyebrow as he turned and spotted Shino sprinting right at him. Stopping in his tracks, Augus watched as Norba approached him with his usual confident stride, and right as he was in front of him, he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I need your help!"

And without even waiting for an answer, Shino quite literally slung Mikazuki up over his shoulder and sprinted off towards his destination. Augus stayed silent through the whole ordeal.

Shino stopped right at the door to the food storage room and placed Mika back onto the ground. Confused, Mika stared up at Shino, who began explaining himself.

"Alright, so… Atra's trying to cook something new…" began Shino, smirking as he spoke. "The ingredients are in there… but… erm… she says that only you can get them…?"

Chuckling at his horrible reasoning, Shino fully expected Mika to call him out on it, but to his surprise, he simply nodded.

"What does she need?" asked Mika, and Shino let out a sigh of relief in response.

"Just… erm, there's a list inside!" proclaimed Shino as he opened the door to the food storage room. Mika raised his brow at Shino as he stepped in, and right as he did…

He heard the door slam behind him. Turning on a dime, Mika raised a brow as he approached the door and attempted to open it, only to find that it was unable to open.

"Shino?" said Mika, only to get no response. The boy was about to knock on the door, though before he could, the lights to the room died, bathing the boy in darkness. Irritated, Mika slammed his shoulder up against the door, though it didn't budge.

And outside, Shino and Akihiro sighed in relief and guilt, respectively, as they stared at the door to the room that Mika was now stuck in, barricaded by several tables to make sure that Mika would be unable to escape for some time. Over by the side, Takaki walked over to tell Shino that he managed to cut the lights to the food storage room.

"Isn't this a bit cruel?" muttered Akihiro.

"Yeah, but it's for a good cause!" responded Shino, smirking proudly as he crossed his arms. Akihiro could only frown as he shook his head. "Let's keep him there for five minutes, maybe…"

**A quick five minutes (or so) later**

When they opened the door, Shino did honestly expect to see Mikazuki on the ground, perhaps shaking in fear while Akihiro and Takaki both had no idea what to expect.

What Shino didn't expect to see, however, was Mikazuki just standing there nonchalantly, looking as neutral as ever, even if he did wince a little at the sunlight. After the wince, however, the boy's eyes narrowed, and if looks could kill, the one whom he was glaring at, Shino, would've been buried ten feet under by now.

"Shino," greeted Mika, his tone of voice quite clearly showing his annoyance as he took a step out of the still dark room. Beside him, Akihiro took a massive step away from Shino as _Tekkadan's _ace pilot began emanating a **MENACING **aura. Takaki himself took to hiding behind a table as he the young man being addressed took an instinctive step back.

"Y-Yes… Mika?" was all Shino could choke out before he was smacked over the head with the body of a raw chicken. The impact was enough to knock Shino out cold, and Akihiro shivered as he watched Mikazuki turn towards him with a gaze filled with malicious intent. For a one armed boy, Mika could still look horribly menacing…

"It… was his idea," muttered Akihiro, and Takaki nodded nervously from behind the table. Mika regarded the two with a burning gaze, though before long, he nodded and went off to do his thing.

Though he did stop for a brief moment to toss what remained of the chicken onto Shino's unconscious body.

"W-Well…" muttered Takaki as he and Akihiro watched Augus stomp off. "I guess darkness and claustrophobia isn't exactly his fear…"

* * *

**Attempt 4: Takaki Uno**

After the ordeal with the food room, the other _Tekkadan _members decided to call the contest off for the day and try again tomorrow, unless they wished to be clobbered by a chicken as well.

And the first to start day 2 off was Takaki, who was a little nervous as Shino still had a massive bump atop his head from the chicken, but Uno was still determined to do this, or at the very least participate in the contest.

Takaki's plan was simple, he led Mika up to the highest point in _Chryse_, a massive hill that overlooked Miss Sakura's farm, and see if Mika was afraid of heights. As expected, however, Mika showed no signs of fear when they overlooked the edge of the hill, though Takaki didn't stand too close to it just to be safe.

At first, when Takaki accepted that he didn't manage it, he got himself ready to bring Mika back to base. However, when he saw how peaceful his senior looked, Uno decided to just stay for a short while to enjoy the scenery alongside him.

"Ride, Yamagi and Shino were weird yesterday,"piped up Mika after some time, glancing over at Takaki, who froze up a little. "Why?"

"Erm… no real reason…" muttered Uno with a forced straight face. Mika nodded at that, though Takaki found the need to speak more as he cleared his throat. "The… view's nice, isn't it?"

Mika simply closed his eyes, took in a deep intake of breath, and gave a small smile before reopening them. Turning towards Takaki, the pilot nodded wholeheartedly before answering.

"Yes, it is. Let's do our best to keep it as nice as it is."

And those words were enough to make Takaki forget about the whole competition as he smiled widely and gave a firm nod of his head.

"Yeah, let's!"

* * *

**Attempt 5, Akihiro Atland**

"..."

"..."

"... I got a cut."

"Yeah, I can see that…"

Those were the only words Mika and Akihiro exchanged as the former stared at the massive wound in the latter's arm. Indeed, Akihiro had what appeared to be a massive gash on his forearm, one that was profusely bleeding.

"... why are you showing this to me?" asked Mika.

"No real reason. Just thought I'd tell you I have a cut," replied Akihiro.

"Alright. Get well soon."

And with that exchange done, Mika went on his way, leaving Akihiro to sigh in mild disappointment as he watched the boy leave. As soon as he was out of view, Akihiro reached for the edge of his 'cut' and… well, he just pulled it off.

"Y'know, Akihiro," came Shino's voice from behind him, prompting Akihiro to turn and spot Norba with a bandage on his head. "That little 'cut costume' is pretty well made, all things considered."

"I bought this for five bucks in _Chryse_," muttered Akihiro as he held the rubbery 'cut costume' between two of his fingers, with said costume dripping with 'blood'. He did try to make the blood effect look realistic, having borrowed mixed some chilli sauce in water and even adding some metal flakes in to simulate the metallic smell. Sure, in the end it didn't work… but Akihiro was still at least a little proud of his work. "It worked pretty well, all things considered."

"Yeah, but he didn't seem to even be creeped out by it, so it didn't work!" proclaimed Shino, smiling brightly.

"It still got me better results than your attempt," shot Akihiro, and in response, Shino's cheeks flared up with insult as he began spewing profanities at Atland, who readily ignored him.

* * *

**Attempt 6, Chad, Dante and Derma **

"You know… he doesn't seem to mind…" muttered Chad.

"Yeah… he doesn't exactly have much shame…" added Dante.

"But… how?" finished Derma.

And as they said that, the three did their best to suppress their laughter as they watched Mikazuki march around the entire _Tekkadan _base wearing a pair of sunglasses that had massive googly eyes attached onto them.

The whole thing was set up by Chad, Derma and Dante, who thought that Mika would refuse the dare out of the fear of being embarrassed. They didn't expect him to actually take them up on the offer…

...and if they were honest, they didn't mind losing. This was too amusing to pass up. And as he walked around the base, Mika gained the attention of several other _Tekkadan _members, all of whom had to do their best to hold in their laughter as well.

As for Mika, he didn't pay much mind to it. For him, it was just another day in _Tekkadan_.

* * *

**Attempt 7: Lafter Frankland, Azee Gurumin and Eco Turbine**

Strangely enough, Lafter, Azee and Eco all wanted in on this as well. The _Tekkadan _crowd was reluctant as it meant they'd get a pay raise whenever they worked alongside them, but Orga was fine with it all.

"He's a boy, ain't he?" offered Lafter as she slapped the table she, Azee and Eco were discussing in front of with her palm. Azee and Eco both looked at her as though she had snapped before nodding, prompting her to continue. "Well, boys tend to be competitive!"

"...and?" muttered Eco, confused.

"I'd say that Mikazuki is scared of losing!" concluded Lafter triumphantly. Azee raised her brow at that, though she allowed Lafter to continue. "Think about it, when we first fought him, Mika fought my _Hyakuri_ with all that he had! His fear of losing clearly shows through!"

"Right…" muttered Azee, not exactly convinced but willing to play along. "But how exactly will we prove this?"

"Simple!"

**Several hours later, Mobile Suit Hangar **

"Mobile Suit Combat Simulation?"

Mika could only tilt his head in confusion as Lafter, Azee and Eco told him their dare. Face off against both Azee and Lafter in a simulation battle, whilst using a Mobile Suit that did not possess the Alaya Vijnana System.

"Yep!" proclaimed Lafter with a thumbs up. "What about it, hmmm? Or are you too chicken?"

"I accept," was her response, and with a smirk on her face, Lafter led Mika over to the unit they had prepared for him… a captured _Graze_. How they captured it was unimportant to Mika, as he approached the unit without question and saddled up in its cockpit.

"Not even a single word from him," quipt Eco with a smirk as Lafter and Azee moved over to their units, a pair of _Shidens_ that were part of the first wave to be produced. "How does he keep his composure, I wonder…"

"No clue, but it doesn't matter!" proclaimed Lafter. "We're gonna beat him so hard that he'll get mad, proving my theory to be correct!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, Lafter."

**A handful of hours later**

Breathing heavily as the cockpits of their units slid open, Lafter and Azee did their best to compose themselves as they exited their units. Outside, Eco, who had been talking to Yamagi for the better part of the past three hours, stood upright and turned towards her friends.

"So, was your theory correct?" inquired Eco curiously as her friends approached her, though before she could even respond, Lafter promptly passed out while Azee slapped her hand onto Eco's shoulder to support herself. "L-Lafter?! What happened in there, you two?!"

"Mika… he's not even human at this point…" explained Azee as she, Eco and Yamagi turned to see the boy in question exit the cockpit of his issued _Graze_. "He doesn't express any form of frustration or fear in the simulation… and he beat us more than expected…"

"Exact score…?" inquired Eco as Mika climbed down from the _Graze_.

"8-11," replied Azee as she collapsed onto the ground. Eco only widened her eyes as Mika approached them, looking as neutral as ever, even if there was some sweat on him.

"That was nice," was all he said to Eco, Azee and Lafter, though the latter couldn't exactly hear him at the moment. Turning to face him, Eco gave a small nod as Augus glanced at his two simulation opponents. "Are they alright?"

"They're… fine. Go get some rest, me and Yamagi'll handle them," assured Eco with a kind smile. Nodding in response, Mika turned on his heel and marched off, leaving behind a bewildered Eco and a less than amused Yamagi. "Is… he usually like that?"

"You have no idea," replied Yamagi as he poked Lafter's back in an effort to wake her up. "He doesn't care about losing, y'know? If he dies, he dies. That's just how Mika is."

"A little forewarning could've helped!" proclaimed Azee. Yamagi simply shrugged at that.

"But hey, the simulation battle got your blood pumping, didn't it?" reasoned Yamagi. And in spite of her disappointment, Azee couldn't help but give a weak smile before she fell flat onto her back.

"Yeah… I suppose you're right…"

* * *

**After several other attempts**

"Mikazuki?"

Blinking as he heard his name be called, the boy in question turned to regard Atra, who approached him with her usual shy stride.

Currently, Mika was standing right at the front of the _Tekkadan_ base, staring up at the night sky of Mars with nary a care in the world. The only thing that was really on his mind at the moment was a small amount of confusion in regards to the recent antics of his comrades. Sure, _Tekkadan _members could be a little playful when off duty, but this was truly something else.

After experiencing the apparent death of Hush Middy, who was somehow resurrected mere seconds after Mika offered no reaction to him being apparently dead, Augus retreated outside to just get away from the recent weirdness. He did want some peace and quiet, though he didn't account for Atra coming into the mix.

Of course, having Atra around was always nice, so he didn't complain as he nodded at his friend, who moved to stand beside him.

"Atra," responded Mika as he turned towards his little friend. "Why are you out here?"

"No real reason," responded Atra as she tapped her fingers together. Mika nodded at Atra's reasoning as he turned away from her and refocused his attention back on the night sky of Mars. However, as time went on, Atra began fidgeting more and more, prompting her to speak up. "H-Hey… Mika…?"

"Hm?" was her response as Augus turned to regard her. The boy raised a brow when he noticed Atra peeking behind them briefly, prompting him to turn around, though he saw nothing behind them, making him believe that he was just seeing things as he shrugged.

"Does everyone seem a little… weird recently?" began Atra, sounding rather awkward as she nearly fumbled over her words. Mika simply snorted at that.

"Weird is one way to put it," commented Mika, his tone sounding somewhat sarcastic, and Atra couldn't help herself. She gave a gentle giggle, a sound that was more than enough to make Mika smile internally as he rolled his one good arm. "I wonder what's gotten into them."

"Yeah…" muttered Atra in response as she crossed her arms and shivered ever so slightly. Raising his brow, Mika took a brief moment to realize that Atra wasn't wearing her usual stuffy jacket. Strangely enough, she was wearing a simple sleeved shirt. Strange, but the boy didn't think much about it as he slipped his _Tekkadan _jacket off his shoulder and handed it to his little friend. "Mika…?"

"You need it more than I do right now," said the pilot, and his expression told Atra that he wasn't willing to argue about this. So, with a little reluctance, she took his jacket and draped it around her shoulder, and though this wasn't exactly the first time she wore it, Atra still found herself surprised by how warm it was inside it. It was enough to make her sigh in relief. "Better?"

"Better…"

And with those words uttered, the two remained silent for a brief moment, with Atra trying to think of a way to initiate the conversation she was hoping for while Mika stayed as silent as he usually was.

And after a long while…

"Mika… how do you… do it?" muttered Atra shyly as she turned to stare at her friend. Mika responded with a raise of his brow, a sign to elaborate, as Atra continued. "You… you don't seem scared of anything… how do you do that?"

Mika didn't say anything in response to that, something that uneased Atra as she fumbled for an apology, though thankfully, the boy spoke up before she could panic.

"I am scared of a lot of things, Atra," replied Mika calmly as he readjusted the straps of his arm sling. Atra raised her brows at that, though before she could reply, Augus continued. "I just don't think about them too much. It's not nice to think about your fears."

"A-Ah…" muttered Atra, and, before she could stop herself, she added: "C-Can… you tell me any of your fears?"

Mika regarded her with a raised brow after she asked, prompting Mixta to wave her hands wildly around in the air as she apologised profusely. She had fully expected him to just walk away at that point, perhaps feeling uncomfortable with such a topic, though shockingly, the boy gave a gentle chuckle.

"Sure," was her nonchalant reply from Augus, who gave a casual shrug. And Atra perked herself up when she heard him, though before he did reply, the girl thought she saw him look… almost shy. That look stayed on his face for barely a second before disappearing, and by then, he was already clearing his throat. "I don't want to lose anyone in _Tekkadan_."

Atra tilted her head to the side, blinking as a sign for Mika to perhaps elaborate further, which he did.

"All of us have been through a lot," explained Mika, gesturing a little with his one good hand as he spoke. "We've shared some good memories, mourned together during some bad ones, and shared a few laughs in the more amusing ones…

"That's what I'm scared of, Atra. I don't want any of this to end. I want _Tekkadan_ to be together forever… for all of us to be together forever."

"T-That's why you fight, isn't it…?" muttered Atra, tapping her fingers together as she spoke. "To keep us safe… and to make sure we survive?"

"Ah. _Tekkadan_… means everything to me. My friends who work in _Tekkadan_ mean everything to me…" replied Mika, and he pursed his lips together before he finished. "... you too, Atra."

And right as she heard that, Atra felt her cheeks burst into flames as she slapped her hands against them and squealed out loud. Blinking at her reaction, Mika extended his good hand towards Atra's forehead, wondering if she was having a fever, though before it connected, the shorter girl turned on a dime and sprinted off, with Mikazuki's _Tekkadan _jacket flowing behind her as she sprinted off into the main building.

Augus watched it all happen with a mildly bewildered expression. Though before long, he gave a soft chuckle as he turned on his heel and began walking towards the main building as well.

_Tekkadan_… it was certainly something. Filled with so many strange people, all of whom were fighting for mostly the same reason. Mika hoped that they never changed.

Though if he were honest, he hoped that Shino would never lock him in a closet ever again.

* * *

**Technically Halloween is in two days, more or less. But fuck it. Happy Halloween everyone.**


End file.
